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But the total grant-in-aid to pubcaster Prasar Bharati has been
shaved off by Rs 320 million, while its loan component has been
upped to fund its expansion of broadcast services.
According to the Budget papers laid in Parliament by finance minister
Jaswant Singh, while presenting an interim Budget today, I&B
ministry's share stands at Rs 9,550 million, up from Rs 6475 million
allocated to it in the last fiscal year.
The hike in the ministry's allocation was explained by officials
as money obtained, by and large, for development of broadcasting
services of Doordarshan and All India Radio managed by Prasar Bharati
and other related
infrastructure.
So significantly, the loan amount to Prasar Bharati has seen an
increase over last fiscal from Rs 690 million to Rs. 1,690 million.
Under the Plan head, Prasar Bharati would get about Rs. 1540 million,
while under the non-plan head it would receive Rs 8210 million.
The Budget papers say that out of the I&B ministry budgetary
allocation, a sizeable amount would go to Prasar Bharati as a lumpsum
for undertaking developmental projects in the remote north-eastern
region of the country and Sikkim, bordering China.
The loan to Prasar Bharati has been explained as money to finance
the capital expenditure, while the remaining amount of the ministry's
allocation would be spent on sundry activities like expansion of
the photo division and
capital expenditure on building a swanky new information centre.
In a year when general elections would be held, the government
is sparing no effort to reach out to the farthest corner of the
country where cable and/or terrestrial transmission don't reach.
One of the ambitious projects undertaken by Prasar Bharati is to
start a free-of-subscription direct-to-home television service covering
the whole India, but mainly targeted at the north-eastern region.
The KU-band DTH service is slated to go on air early April.
Government officials explained that an increase in I&B ministry's
budgetary allocation, mainly meant for Prasar Bharati, was possible
because of active cooperation and comprehension of the issue by
Planning Commission secretary, RR Shah, who earlier was with the
I&B ministry and had held additional charge of director-general
of DD.
The Planning Commission is a government think-tank on economic
policies.
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